The seven fat men stood in a row, glaring at the Taoist priest in front of them.
The Taoist priests were seemingly dumbfounded by the recent happenings. They wore strange expressions with closed mouths and everyone had their eyes on the flying sword-wielding green-robed leader of the Taoist priests. The leader had a confident smile. With his eyes squinting, it was almost as if he dozed off, unperturbed by the happenings in front of him.
The fat men brandished their appalling great knives. Their eyes scanned through each of the Taoist priests’ faces, undecided who to strike first. One of the fat men asked Wen Leyang softly, “Which one should we go for?”
Wen Leyang replied, “Hit whoever that makes the first noise!” Wen Leyang turned and ran towards the four elders. Wei Mo also jumped down from one of the fat men’s shoulder, looked around and hid among the Wen family.
Wen Leyang had not even said a word. Grand Elder Wen’s face filled with consolation and said laughingly, “All that matters is that you came back, unharmed.” The old man paused for a while, patted Leyang’s shoulder heavily. He suddenly relaxed his vocals, laughed heartily and repeated with more force, “All that matters is that you came back, unharmed!”
Some warmth also made its way into the Second Grandpa and the Third Grandpa’s eyes, which was a rare event. Both of them nodded towards their grandson in looking pleased.
The Fourth Grandpa was still poker-faced when he said to Wen Leyang drily, “Xiaoyi is in the workshop, she is fine.” He paused awhile after he finished, turned and ordered Wen Buzuo, “Tell them to prepare something good for dinner tonight.” While he was talking, the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax a little.
Wen Leyang felt his bones go limp. He stood still, not knowing what to say. He remained like that for awhile before coming back to his senses and went before the First Uncle.
Wen Tunhai inhaled, making hissing sounds as he was bearing the pain from his wounds. He grinned painfully, “Never mind, it’s only a scratch. Our family did not lose this time. I defeated six elder priests and only got this small wound…not too rough!”
Wen Daniang, who was dressing his wounds, glared at him and yelled back with a temper akin to his, “Be a man and suck it in! I’m the one who always has to take care of you when you got yourself wounded. Where are your little ladies now…” Although Daniang was scolding him forcefully, her movements were gentler than before.
Wen Buzuo had a sheepish smile. He trotted with a jolly spring as though one has just farted and went in front of Wen Leyang. He first patted Wen Leyang’s shoulder and spoke in an old-fashioned way, “All that matters is that you came back, unharmed!” He did not wait for the elders to scold him before explaining in a hushed tone, “The scarlet robes are from the Sun Dynasty Palace, the green robes are their helpers!”
Who would have thought that after two years, the Sun Dynasty Palace did not even care about the Great Mercy Temple and came here to wreak havoc again? Wen Leyang gritted his teeth, “Who are the helpers?” While saying that, his burning gaze fixed itself onto the green-robed Taoist priest, who was seemingly detached from the whole incident.
Wen Buzuo shook his head, “I don’t know, they did not say anything. The green robes have not said a word since they ascended the mountain. They just stood there watching on the sidelines. However, they should be the ones who broke the prohibition spell down the mountain, the bastards from the Sun Dynasty Palace do not have such capabilities.”
When Wen Leyang looked at him, the green-robed Taoist priest, who was hugging his great sword while smiling with squinted eyes, opened his eyes abruptly. His gaze was bright and sharp, like a pair of ice-cold knives, meeting Wen Leyang’s gaze as fast as lightning… However, when he opened his eyes, Leyang was no longer looking at him.
The leader of the Taoist’s priest was slightly disheartened and let out a laugh. A loud cheer suddenly erupted in front of him as if there was a great promotion and seven great knives loudly surged towards him from all directions!
The seven fat men’s wait finally bore fruit as someone made a sound from among the Taoist priests.
When the fat men moved, the green-robed Taoist priests behind the leader of the priests let out an angry shout, chanting their mantras non-stop. Few dozens of flying swords connected and formed a long chain, releasing a sharp glow that cannot be seen directly while mercilessly slicing at the Rainbow brothers.
A loud bang followed by a great vibration. Seven great knives, which bore the colors of the rainbow, rose to meet the sword chain in the sky. The force was so great that all the clouds were dispersed in an instant, leaving behind a clear sky!
The green-robed Taoist priests whimpered and staggered backward.
The seven fat men were still jolly, waving their knives about and making wind sounds. They eagerly shouted at the Taoist priests, “Again, again!” When they joined their forces to fight against Third Brother Wei from One Word Palace, they did not suffer even after a bout with the famous shadow of rods. Facing the dozen or so Taoist priests whose cultivation is somewhat shallow, it was nothing to them.
The leader of the priests who wanted to say something just now changed his expression stepped in front of his disciples and roared, “Allow me!” That one blow just now was the fruit of true cultivation and did not escape his eyes.
At the same time, Wen Leyang shouted, “Don’t attack, fall back!”
The seven fat men responded loudly, placed their great knives behind their backs and ran behind Wen Leyang.
The leader of the priests was about to brandish his great sword but his opponents had all ran away. He coughed, feeling disheartened, and returned his great sword in his embrace.
Wen Leyang took a few steps forward, looked at the leader of the priests who had no opportunity to show his power and asked, “Who are you?”
The leader of the priests smiled silently, putting on airs. One of the priests behind him answered instead, “My master is the enlightened sword-bearer of the Jilong way, his Taoist name is Qingniao!”
Wen Leyang nodded, comprehending that the Sun Dynasty Palace has also looked up Jilong mountain of the Five Blessings. He glared towards the scarlet-robed Taoist priests, disdain clearly written on his face, “So now that the Sun Dynasty Palace has the Five Blessing’s Jilong way backing it, it is finally brave enough to seek revenge from the Wen Bucao. Which one of you is the leader Huo Yangzi?”
Grand Elder Wen snickered from behind him, “We initially have to pay the respects due to the Great Mercy Temple. Since you’ve come all the way here…” Third Elder Wen interjected, “Even the whole Sun Dynasty Palace is not worth one man’s life from the Wen family!”
The last time the Sun Dynasty Palace went up the mountain for revenge, it was the Wen Bucao’s first time facing the true cultivators. They suffered a great deal, with the death of some eight young disciples. If it were up to the two-thousand-year-old tradition of the Wen Bucao, even the death of one disciple would mean the death of the entire clan of the enemy. But then the Great Mercy Temple interfered, the whole affair remained unresolved. Now that the Sun Dynasty Palace have come here of their own accord, they played right into the hands of the four elders of the Wen family.
A middle-aged scarlet-robed priest stood out, “Little demon, you injured our leader and now you’re acting all innocent! This debt must be paid by the Wen Bucao today!”
Wen Leyang was astonished that the person whom he kicked over was the leader of the Sun Dynasty Palace. A sense of achievement welled up within him.
The priest continued, “Our brothers from the Sun Dynasty Palace coming here to seek revenge has nothing to do with us. The enlightened sword bearer came to Nine Peaks Mountain to investigate a bloody crime committed by the wicked demons!”
The priest paused briefly before saying in a clear voice, “Two years ago, a few brothers accidentally got struck by the Mountain Coffin spell and was buried under the Nine Peaks Mountain. Lately, the demons have been restless, with evildoers bringing calamities everywhere. As a member of the Five Blessings, it is the duty of Jilong Mountain to eradicate all evil. Since there had been signs of demons on the Nine Peaks Mountain, it is only natural that we came here to investigate.”
Wen Leyang gritted his teeth again and glared at Qingniao asking, “How do you intend to investigate?” Wen Leyang had already found out that the culprit responsible for the Mountain Coffin spell were the remnants of Jingpo, this message was also passed on by the Great Mercy Temple. Who would have thought that the Jilong way came up with such an absurd excuse?
The priest answered in his master’s stead, “My master has enlightened sight. Any demons or evil spirits cannot escape his Inner Eye. Just call out all the people of Wen Bucao and let my master look at each and every one of them, then we will know if the person has done wrong. The Jilong way is a right cultivation path under the heavens, we will never wrongly accuse another person.”
The four elders of the Wen family looked at each other. They were old-timers and could tell that this excuse was just a farce. They immediately understood that these people came here looking for someone. Nonetheless, who in the Wen family can provoke even Jilong of the Five Blessings to investigate, they have no idea.
Wen Leyang did not even say anything when the enlightened sword bearer inquired, “Who are you guys?” His gaze went pass Wen Leyang and glanced back and forth at the seven fat men behind Wen Leyang.
In the enlightened sword bearer’s eyes, Wen Leyang’s punch was indeed terrifying but it all came down to Huo Yangzi’s lack of practice, resulting in his treasured weapon unable to protect him in time. What truly gave him a sense of danger was the seven fat men, who he had never heard about before. The rainbow move that they used just now was truly astonishing.
The seven fat men were all giggling happily when someone finally spoke to them. They came forward, the fats on their bodies shaking.
“I thought you were dumb.”
“You want to know the names of us, brothers?”
“Our names are easy to remember but strangely nobody remembers them”
“I see that you have no problem remembering it!”
“If you can remember it, we will kneel down and kowtow you!”
“But if you cannot, then you must kneel down and kowtow us!”
“But a kowtow means a kowtow, no mean words!”
…
Wen Leyang retreated while stifling a laugh, with a sheepish look in his eyes. He already knew the names of these seven fat men when he spent half a year in the mountains with them. If they do not bring out their weapons, even he has trouble telling them apart.
Qingniao was not angered but laughed in a saintly manner, “Tell me then. My memory is not too shabby, I’m sure I can remember seven names.”
The Rainbow brothers were elated. They stood in a row in front of Qingniao, “I’m the eldest, call me fourth brother! I’m the second eldest, call me seventh brother! I’m the third eldest, call me fifth brother… We also have a collective name called the Rainbow…
All the Wen Bucao roared with laughter. The First Uncle Wen Tunhai also laughed but grimaced as the movement stretched his wounds.
After the seven brothers finished declaring their names, they jumped about in a flurry and changed their positions in a mess of movements. After they rearranged themselves, one of the brothers asked smugly, “Which rank am I? What am I called?”
The other six fat men stared at the enlightened sword bearer nervously, worrying that if he got it right, their brother would have to kneel and kowtow.
The enlightened sword bearer’s expression was as steely as Third Brother Wei. He clenched his teeth, barely holding in his anger. He was about to say something when a cold laugh came from the Wen Bucao.
Wen Ninth and Wen Thirteenth were holding hands as they made their way merrily in front of the Rainbow brothers. They scrutinized all seven of them. Wen Ninth reached his hand out, pointed confidently to the fat man in the middle and said, “You are the eldest, you are called Fourth Brother!”
Wen Thirteenth pointed to the fat man at the end, “You are the second eldest, you are called Seventh Brother!”
…
The two silly uncles called out the ranks and names of all seven of the fat men in one breath.
The seven fat men lost all color from their faces and stared blankly at Wen Ninth and Wen Thirteenth. After a long pause, the eldest, called Fourth Brother saluted them, “We were wrong to have underestimated you, great experts!”
Wen Leyang was originally worried that the enemy might launch a sneak attack on the two silly uncles and was walking beside them. Now his eyes bulged bigger than a bull’s. He pulled on Wen Ninth’s sleeves, “Ninth Uncle, how did you recognize them?”
Wen Ninth’s smugness suddenly disappeared, in its place was the original silly smile. He asked Wen Thirteenth, “Little Taiyang is calling the Ninth Uncle, is that you or me?”
Wen Thirteenth wore a pained expression, looking confused.
After that Wen Leyang’s explanation for the entire event was: a supernatural incident.
The seven fat men finally encountered experts. They surrounded the two silly uncles with great laughter and showered them with admiration and fondness. They insisted on making the two uncles one of them. Wen Leyang interrupted by saying, “The seven of you are called the Rainbow. Now you have nine members, but there is no such thing as a nine-colored rainbow.”
One of the fat men paused in thought and suddenly had an idea, “Then we’ll add two words. From now on we’ll be called the…Wind…Wind Rain Rainbow?”
Wen Leyang burst out into laughter, “You might as well call yourselves the ‘Sonorous Rose’!”
The enlightened sword-bearer of Jilong way was angry at first.However, after listening to the conversation between the seven fat men, silly uncles, and Wen Leyang, he unwrinkled his brow and smiled. He initially thought that the seven fat men were playing him a fool, but it is now apparent that Rainbow or Wind Rain Rainbow was fool’s play. With him standing, he would not bother himself with these bunch of people.
The priest behind him also laughed following his master’s actions, and spoke again, “Wen Bucao, gather all your men and…” Before he finished his sentence, there was a blur of movement. The four elders of the Wen family started making their move simultaneously. Their first moves were the same but each has his own unique and peculiar style. They charged towards him as mighty as a dragon or as sneaky as a serpent!
When the four elders made their move, the green robes, scarlet robes, sword-bearer, Wen Leyang, and the Rainbow brothers all let out a shout. All hell broke loose in front of the village.
The enlightened sword bearer, with the power of his mind, the great sword in his cradle made a buzzing sound and was about to stop the four elders of the Wen family in their tracks. Suddenly he felt his body tense up. Wen Leyang was like an electric eel in the air, closing in on him without a sound. Qing Niao released a breath, having no time to spare for the four Wen elders, his great sword made a slight movement, perfectly intercepting Wen Leyang’s attack. Behind the great sword, the old priest Qing Niao made a move and appeared behind Wen Leyang like a phantom. He struck the back of Leyang’s head lightly with his palm.
Seeing that the pearl white hand is almost upon Wen Leyang’s head, a ripple broke through the calm spring wind, Wen Leyang already made his way around the great sword in front of him and was now standing where Qing Niao was just a few moments ago.
Both their hearts were filled with shock. In a split second, Wen Leyang attacked, the priest shifted his sword, the priest moved around his sword and appeared behind Wen Leyang. Wen Leyang dodged the priest’s attack and ducked behind the great sword. All this happened in the blink of an eye. The two of them only managed to switch positions, nobody gained the upper hand. The sword did not even fall to the ground!
The enlightened sword-bearer Qing Niao did not stop his outstretched hand and held his great sword lightly. His gaze lost its former biting coolness and proud manner, in its place was carefulness and shock.
The green-robed priests behind them were only half a beat slower than the sword-bearer. Few dozens of long swords rose again and flew in a packed formation towards the four elders of the Wen family! At the same time, the Rainbow brothers moved out, Rain and Wind did not react.
The seven fat men’s great knives emitted a magnificent rainbow. The seven colors combined as one and struck against the sword formation. The sword formation was once again broken in a burst of warm light of spring. However, this time all the green-robed priests attacked at the same time, hence the force of the attack was much greater than the sword chain. The seven fat men were rocked until they went pale and were staggering backward.
The people from Jilong way also backed down following the vibration.
The last one to react were the priests from the Sun Dynasty Palace. They were in a mess of shouts and just when they wanted to attack, their legs suddenly gave way. The glint of a blade that was like a poisonous snake danced among them and the hidden blade cut down countless feet! Three-Inch Nail Wen Bushuo, who did not show himself until now jumped out, followed by the men from the Death Trademark. The men burst out of the ground and confused the formation of the Sun Dynasty Palace priests.
The people from the Sun Dynasty Palace cried in agony. They did not expect the enemy to jump out of the ground out of the blue. Their mind was already fixed on their surroundings, they should have known if someone was trying to get at them from below.
The chatterbox Wen Buzuo laughed on his spot, cheering his brother on, “Nice Earth Cover!”
‘Earth Cover’ is a special move of the Death Trademark. They covered their bodies with a special powder before entering the ground. After they entered the ground, even moles and worms would regard them as their kind or as rocks. The priests’ mind, although sharp, only sensed that the small movements in the earth was by vermin and did not even realize that the one coming for them was the grim reaper.
Not a single root grows on the Wen. Never befriend a Miao. Die a dog’s death on Crow Ridge. The notoriety did not survive two thousand years out of pure luck. The cultivators were merely human beings, who attained some magical power through cultivation, and had the opportunity to look beyond the heavens. When they were faced with the three families’ meticulously researched for two thousand years, numerous mind-blowing killing techniques, they can only flail about helplessly when they were caught off guard.
It was at this moment that a crisp slapping sound was heard. The four elders of the Wen family all struck as one on the cheek of the priest that was doing all the talking.
Once they succeeded in their one strike, they loftily backed down. Grand Elder Wen chuckled, “The Nine Peaks Mountain is no place for a rookie little priest who has no hair to make a ruckus!”
The Death Trademark, seeing that their masters have succeeded, sheathed their swords and retreated back into Wen Bucao’s ranks like phantoms, disappearing completely after a few pushes here and there.
The people from the Sun Dynasty Palace did not even bother about chasing. They made a lot of noise while frantically treating their wounded companions. They also took out the Cleansing Talismans and placed them on each other’s bodies to expel the poison.
The priest who was slapped was stunned for a while as if he did not comprehend what had just taken place. One side of his face was a mess of hand marks whereas the other side was spotless.
The four elders of the Wen family looked at each other and wondered aloud, “All slapped the same cheek?”
They barely just finished their sentence when Wen Leyang who fought with the enlightened sword-bearer made his move again. He leaped and rained blow after blow on his opponent. His blows were so fast that bystanders could only see a blur of movements. The shadow of the first strike barely vanished before the second and third strike was out. The people present were dazzled. They were starting to have difficulty telling which shadow is the real Wen Leyang.
Wen Leyang was a kind person, but he was not stupid. The four grandpas not only hit the little priests, but they hit the Five Blessing’s Jilong way. He did not want to waste time to talk and struck out immediately. Ever since the pouring rain in the Red Leaves Forest, the Wen Bucao, which was peaceful for two thousand years, was suddenly dragged into the scuffle between cultivators. Every member of the elders to Wen Leyang were all of the same mind – if we cannot avoid it, we’ll just hit anyone standing in our way!
In the name of their ancestor Tuo Xie, the Wen Bucao could never possibly gather every one of its members to let the old priest Qing Niao see. As to who they were looking for on the Nine Peaks Mountain, Wen Leyang did not care. That was Wen Yiban’s expertise, he would just focus on apprehending people.
The great sword in enlightened sword-bearer Qing Niao’s cradle was immensely huge. A slight horizontal move was all it took to completely seal Wen Leyang’s attacks. After a few futile attempts, Wen Leyang made a strange cry and resumed his barrage with a nostalgic explosive power. He was like an angry arrow that was shot off a bow, striking towards the great sword.
The enlightened sword-bearer retained his smile. The hands holding onto the great sword shook and a greenish-black cold light was released from the sword and flew towards Wen Leyang without any reservations.
Just when Wen Leyang’s whole body was executing the Faulty Punch and was about to hit the great sword, he flexed and without warning jumped into the midst of the priests who were watching the fight wholeheartedly. Cries of pain could immediately be heard. Nobody expected that this honest looking young fellow would abandon his great enemy and strike at the small fry instead.
The aura that Wen Leyang emitted was absolute and fierce. It did not even spare a second before changing its recipients. From the bystander’s point of view, it was as if there was a distortion in space. Wen Leyang, who was supposed to appear in front of the enlightened sword-bearer suddenly jumped into the midst of the Taoist priests.
The poison in Wen Leyang’s body was like a raging river. One move from the Faulty Punch and the power of poison will be unleashed. He just had to keep the momentum and maintain his advantage. His current speed was not as fast as the flying swords, but his moves were peculiar and outsmarted the magic weapons of the priests. After jumping headlong into the enemy’s ranks, his Faulty Punch combo was like an agile serpent slithering among the bodies, landing blows on several persons in the blink of an eye.
To Wen Leyang who had been hitting mountains for ten months, hitting people was a piece of cake. Every priest who faced him was no exception, they all felt that a great force that they could never defend against suddenly hit them, breaking their bones even before they were sent flying.
The enlightened sword-bearer let out a strange cry that was not befitting of him, which sounded like a tractor crushing a wolf’s tail. The greatsword in his hands flew up into the sky, gathering storm clouds around it. Out of nowhere, enchanted electric snakes danced around the great sword in the gaps between the clouds.
Wen Leyang had seen things, but this was his first time witnessing the magical power of making rain. Feeling slightly insecure, he increased the force under his feet and continued leaping among the ranks of priests, not willing to leap out.
The enlightened sword-bearer commanded his sword with gritted teeth. There were a few instances when the sword was about to strike, but Wen Leyang swiftly ducked behind one of the old priests. The priests weren’t stupid as well, they shouted while running here and there, trying to give their master an opening, but none of them were fast enough for Wen Leyang.
The clouds were rolling while the old priests were running around on the ground.
The enlightened sword-bearer did not have a chance to strike Wen Leyang. Suddenly, his expression lost all signs of anxiousness, He even smiled. He shook his head towards Wen Leyang, “Little demon, you have much to learn.” As he was saying this he made the sword controlling sign, the sword that was chasing after Wen Leyang flipped in midair, its tip pointed towards the group of Wen clansmen, at the same time he bellowed, “Thunder!”
The realization struck Wen Leyang, he made a grave mistake! If he could hit the enemy’s disciples, the enemy could also kill his own kin.
The lightning bolts that were flitting between the rain clouds like magic snakes converged under the guidance of the enlightened sword-bearer’s great sword. A lightning chain as great as a waterfall condensed in a flash, preparing to unleash itself unto the people of the Wen family.
Wen Leyang no longer had time to be bothered with the little priests and he had even less time to deal with the enlightened sword-bearer, who was now smiling coldly at him. The poison of Life and Death surged through his body, utilizing his full power and pounced towards his family, hoping that he could make it in time to shield them from the lightning.
Even the swiftest swallow could not overtake the seemingly gentle breeze. Wen Leyang’s ghostlike body was a joke in the face of heavenly powers. He has just mustered his strength when millions of purple arcs converged in the sky, forming a glorious but terrifying apocalyptic glow of the gods, making a thunderous sound that pierced the heavens, like a golden dragon moving its fierce body, roaring while plunging towards the people of the Wen family.
Wen Leyang was furious, he could never make it in time! In that moment, inside the deathly glow, the terrified expressions of each of his kin was embedded in his heart. A great anger and sadness burst out within him, smashing all his veins and thoughts. His mind was a total blank, and in his eyes were only a lightning dragon, as thick as a mountain range.
The lightning dragon which was formed by ten thousand lightning bolts roared and reared, barring its teeth and brandishing its claws, emerging from the rain clouds. Just when it was about to obliterate all hope of life, there was a great vibration, the dragon squared in on itself and disappeared without a sound.
One second the godly glow which shook heaven and earth was shining everywhere, the next second, the loud bang and great light vanished into a light breeze.
The huge difference that occurred in that short time span left one little time to adjust. It is as if the blood that was pumping heavily towards your eyes and brain suddenly lost their propulsion, leaving you with an empty feeling.
Everyone was shocked, staring at the sky with lifeless eyes. Nobody knew what just happened. A silence as quiet as death completely covered the Nine Peaks Mountain which was lively just a few moments ago.
After a long while, Grand Elder Wen managed to regain his senses. He coughed weakly, extending a trembling finger and pointed towards the back of the village, “The light, lightning rod that we installed a few years back sure came…came in handy.”
In the direction which the grand elder was pointing, a thick metal rod that was tens of meters long was standing proudly, with the imposing manner of a sword that will pierce the heavens.